Artie Abrams
Artie Abrams is a fictional character in the TV series, Glee. His dream is to be a dancer, as stated in "Dream On ". He is portrayed by Kevin McHale. Biography Artie is an active member of the Glee Club. When he was eight years old, he was in a car crash with his mother, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down (although, he stated that he still has the use of his penis). His website bio states that he likes to play DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) with his hands. Season One In the Pilot, Artie's friend Tina helps him sign up for New Directions, due to him not being able to reach the sign-up sheet. For unknown reasons, they did not show Artie's audition (if he had one, which he probably did). Artie is given the solo in "Sit Down, You're Rocking The Boat" with Mercedes, Rachel, Kurt, and Tina, which makes Rachel furious. During the number, Artie is unable to dance or move that much due to his wheelchair. When Rachel tells Will that Artie having the solo is ridiculous, Artie suggests Will is using irony to enhance the performance. Rachel almost rolls Artie off the stage in "You're The One", in which he performed background vocals. Artie appeared sad when Will announced he was resigning. Later the football team stuffs Artie in a toilet stall, and plans to flip it. Artie is terrified, but is eventually rescued by Finn, who rolls him back to the Auditorium. Artie performs background vocals in "Don't Stop Believin'". In "Showmance", Artie is seen with Mercedes, Tina, and Will practicing runs. He performs background vocals in "Le Freak", a disco song he and the rest of the glee club hate. He suggests modern music to Will, who rejects his idea. Artie performs background vocals in "Gold Digger" and is present in a Will-less glee club rehearsal in which the club plans to appeal to the school's interest in sex. He performs background vocals in "Push It". In "Acafellas (episode)", Artie is present at a glee club rehearsal, in which Rachel tells Will his choreography is lame. He is also seen at rehearsal without Will. Artie and Tina clean cars at the glee club carwash fundraiser. Dakota Stanley kicks Artie out of the club due to his disability, leading to Tina leaving with him. Rachel stops them before they leave and fires Dakota. In "Preggers", Artie is seen in a glee rehearsal, in which Tina is given a solo. He is seen at another rehearsal at the end of the episode. In "The Rhodes Not Taken", Artie is seen practicing with the club for invitationals. Artie and the rest of New Directions are skeptical when April Rhodes joins the club. Artie is seen warming up with the glee club just before invitationals, and he performs background vocals in "Last Name" and "Somebody to Love". In "Vitamin D", Artie finds out which schools will also be at sectionals. Will tells the club that they will compete in a glee-off between the girls and boys, in which each team must perform a mash-up. According to Artie, the boys planned to beat the girls. The boys decide to perform a mash-up of "It's My Life" and "My Confessions". They perform their mash-up under the influence of Finn's decongestant, in which Artie performs a short solo and background vocals. Artie watches the girls' mash-up. In "Throwdown", Sue steps in as co-head of the glee club. She attempts to make Will look insensitive to minorities by taking Artie and other minority students into her 'elite glee club'. Artie performs background vocals in "Hate on Me" and "Ride Wit Me". Artie storms out of the auditorium with the rest of the glee club after Sue and Will argue, and performs background vocals in Keep Holding On. In "Mash-Up", Artie, Tina and Mercedes avoid Dave Karofsky in fear of being hit by a slushie. Will suggests a mash-up with "Bust a Move" to glee club, and Artie performs background vocals in the song when Will begins singing it. Artie is present at Puck's performance of "Sweet Caroline" and throws a slushie at Will with the rest of New Directions. In Wheels, when the group makes plans for sectionals, Will Schuester discovers that the school won't give him a bus capable for Artie's wheelchair. When he informs the group that they need to raise money, the other students are unconcerned, saying that Artie can just ride with his dad. This visibly hurts Artie's feelings. He later sings "Dancing with Myself". Angry at New Directions' behavior, Will forces the kids to raise the money with a bake sale, and forces the others to ride in wheelchairs for a week, to see how difficult it is for Artie to spend his whole life in a wheelchair. Artie tells Tina that he was in a car crash when he was eight years old. While his mother who was driving the car was fine, Artie was left crippled from the waist down (although he still is capable of using his penis as he tell s Tina). Artie falls for Tina because he feels connected to her because they both have disabilities (Artie in a wheelchair and Tina’s stutter). They finally have a date together which ends in wheelchair racing down the hall. After losing to Artie, Tina kisses him. Afterwards, Tina confides in Artie her stutter is fake, something she created to not have to do an oral report in grade school. Artie, hurt by the lie and claiming that the connection he thought they have is a lie, breaks off the relationship, much to Tina's disappointment. He performs solos and background vocals in "Proud Mary", a special wheelchair number in Artie's honor. In "Ballad", Artie is partnered with Quinn for the ballad assignment and watches Rachel and Will's cover of "Endless Love". Artie sings a solo and background vocals in "Lean On Me". In "Hairography", Artie is present at a glee rehearsal Brittany attempts to videotape and watches Jane Addams Academy perform "Bootylicious". Artie is given a wig and the glee club learns hairography. He performs solos and background vocals in "Hair/Crazy in Love", "Imagine", and "True Colors". In "Mattress", Kurt tells the glee club and Artie that having a glee club yearbook photo would be embarrassing. Artie votes for Rachel as team captain, and refuses when Rachel asks him to be her co-captain. The club is cast in a Mattress Land commercial, in which they perform "Jump". We see Artie out of his wheelchair for the first time during the performance. They are all sad when Will is disqualified. Artie is seen getting ready for the glee club yearbook photo, and taking the photo with the club. The glee club picture is later defaced and vandalized by Dave Karofsky. In "Sectionals", Artie goes on party line with Mercedes, Tina, Kurt, Brittany, and Santana after Rachel noticed that both Finn and Puck helped Quinn get up when she slipped and began to theorize that Finn might not actually be the father of Quinn's baby. The others already knew this was true, but had not told Rachel for fear of her telling Finn. As such they discuss their chances at sectionals, and their worry that Rachel may tell Finn that Quinn's not having his baby. Artie is seen at a glee club rehearsal where the club discusses their set list. Emma is appointed as the new glee club head and Mercedes performs "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going". Artie is seen watching Finn punch Puck, and later being loaded onto the special sectionals bus. The club is concerned when the glee club has the last performance slot. They watch Jane Addams Academy and Haverbrook copy their set list and are shocked and worried. Artie rammed himself into a wall repeatedly in frustration and worry. New Directions meet in the greenroom. Finn returns and the club figures out what to perform. Artie performs background vocals in "You Can't Always Get What You Want", and is shown listening in on the judges. Despite the behind-the-scenes conflict, McKinley High wins sectionals. They later perform "My Life Would Suck Without You" for Will, in which Artie performs background vocals. In "Hell-O" Artie performs background vocals during "Gives You Hell" and "Hello, Goodbye". In "The Power Of Madonna," Artie is very disrespectful towards Tina but forgives her for lying about her stutter and says the only way they can be together is if she changes her gothic appearance. This angers Tina who later angrily confronts him which surprises him. Later he apologizes to Tina who gets emotional thinking he hates her but they kiss and make up. He performs background vocals in "What It Feels Like For A Girl" and "Like A Prayer". In "Home" Artie performs background vocals in "Home" as well as joining in while Mercedes sings "Beautiful". In "Bad Reputation", Artie (along with Kurt, Tina, Mercedes, and Brittany) is angry about not being on the glist (except Brittany who was angry because she was fourth) so they decide to cause havoc in the library by performing "U Can't Touch This" in which he sings leading vocals. They still don't get put on the glist after the performance. Artie then tells Kurt to admit it was them that put Sue’s rendition of Physical on the internet. He is only one who doesn't dance in "Ice Ice Baby" because of his disability. 'Season Two' In Auditions, Tina breaks up with him because she fell in love with Mike Chang. Artie is desperate, and asks Finn to help him to get in The Football Team, in hopes that Tina will like him again if he'd be more like Mike. Finn is insecure at first, but he finds Artie's idea of him being like a human cannonball great and agrees to help him. However, upon seeing Artie, Beiste accuses Finn of trying to make her seem like a monster when she has to reject a disabled kid and kicks him out of the team. He is also seen sadly watching Tina and Mike dance, and singing Travie Mccoy parts in Billionaire. In Britney/Brittany however, Beiste changes her mind, and puts Artie on the team. Personality Artie's personality has a series of layers and contradictions. He is at first glance, a sweet and quiet boy, who simply is trying to get by like everyone else. However, the truth is Artie can be an outspoken and surprisingly in-your-face individual when either provoked or when around people who he finds himself comfortable with. It seems that due to his handicap, Artie has, at times, let that define him as a person, feeling that it makes him an outsider amongst others and that the only people who could truly understand him are other with their own forms of handicaps, such as when he thought that Tina really had a stutter. Artie for the most part however tries to not let his handicap keep him down emotionally, but he finds it hard when his friends look down at him because of it. When hurt, Artie will often react harshly, such as ending a budding relationship with Tina upon learning of she had no real stutter. Artie often has a false bravado that he uses to protect himself emotionally, which at times causes him to behave surprisingly arrogant, such as telling Tina that he will date her, despite her lying to him, if she changed everything about herself (to which he later apologies for). Relationships Tina Cohen-Chang Main article: Tina-Artie Relationship Tina and Artie were friends long before joining Glee. Upon seeing the notice board, it was Tina who helped Artie sign up, due to his being unable to reach the sign-up sheet in his chair. After joining, Artie and Tina began to show a mutual attraction to one another, with Tina having immense respect for Artie being handicapped and yet not letting it stop him from living his life. Artie, meanwhile, feels a kinship with Tina, because of her stutter. When the Glee is forced by Mr. Schuester to use wheelchairs, Tina's respect grows, and at last the two go on a date, which ends with a kiss. After the kiss, Tina admits that her stutter is fake, which disappoints and angers Artie, who breaks off the relationship. Afterwards, it appears the two of them have remained friends, as there has been no obvious ill-will between the pair. Later, Artie decides to rekindle his relationship with Tina, feeling he can move past her lies, assuming that she changes everything about her appearance and essentially allow him to take a dominant role. This infuriates Tina, who later goes off on him because of behavior. Realizing his error, he apologies to her, and she accepts, kissing him again and allowing for them to try dating once again. This pairing is often referred to as 'Tartie' or 'Artina' by fans. In Season 2 she breaks up with him because he was a bad boyfriend and only wanted to watch Coming Home. Quotations Category:Characters Category:New Directions members Category:Main characters Category:Disabled Characters Category:William McKinley High School Students Category:Male Characters Category:Kevin McHale Category:William McKinley High Football Team members Category:Artie Abrams Category:Images of Artie Abrams Category:New Directions Members